


Second Chance

by matbaerzal



Category: NHL - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:34:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23841577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matbaerzal/pseuds/matbaerzal
Summary: You’re friends with Tito, who sets you and Mat up on a date. You really liked him but because of your nerves the date was awkward. So when you see him at Tito’s party after the date, you’d rather just avoid being turned down by him.
Relationships: Mathew Barzal/Reader
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

Why you decided to come to Anthony’s party, you had no idea. You knew that running into Mat was inevitable. It’s not that the two of you didn’t get along, but after a failed attempt by Tito to set the two of you up you were sure that Mat would grab his chance to nicely turn you down. That he would “friendzone” you, so things didn’t have to be awkward between the two of you whenever you crossed paths. You knew that you couldn’t be sober whenever that conversation happened, so the first thing you do when you arrive is to grab a drink from the kitchen.

The date had started out fine, and you wouldn’t say it was a bad date either. You were just incredibly nervous, for a number of reasons. First; he was stupidly handsome and his laugh was unmistakably adorable, second; he seemed like an actually decent guy, and third; if it didn’t end up working out, you’d have to pretend that you didn’t like him. And you don’t do well when you get nervous. You get clumsy, and you forget how to speak. You felt like he had to dig every answer out of you, and you couldn’t help yourself. You kept stuttering when you talked, and you were a blushing mess most of the time. And to put the icing on the cake you managed to spill red wine on his white shirt. He’d been a perfect gentleman, and you’d love to go on another date with him. But, you were positive that he’d never want to go on a second date with you, and you couldn’t even blame him.

You’ve been at the party for 14 minutes before you see him the first time. He’s in the living room talking to Tito, who waves at you to come over. Mat’s got his back turned to you, so just as he turns around and sees you, you dart into the kitchen to make yourself another drink. You know you can’t avoid him the whole night, but you’ll try as long as you can. You almost run into Grace as you enter the kitchen. “Woah, hey! who are you running from?” she laughs. “What? No one” you deny. “Mhm, sure” she says and takes a sip of her drink. You ignore her teasing and start making your drink. Her eyes widen as she remembers something, quickly putting her drink down, “how did your date with Barzy go?” she exclaims. You stop in your movements and your whole body flushes in embarrassment, completely giving yourself away. “That’s who you’re running from?” she gasps, you cover your face nodding. “Tell me everything” she says, so you give her the short story. And you can see the sympathy in her eyes as you go over how you made a complete fool of yourself. Though Grace tries to assure you that it probably wasn’t as bad as you thought, she also promises to stay by your side as much as she can for the rest of the night.

The two of you eventually leave the kitchen to join the rest of the party. She slyly goes to check where Mat is before leading you right past him. You find a spot on the couch, looking behind you quickly, you see Mat is busy playing beer pong with Tito, playing against Jordan and Anders. Luckily, it looks like they just started and Mat will be occupied for a while, so you relax and make yourself comfortable in your seat. Though, you can’t help but look over whenever you hear him laugh, it’s a miracle he hasn’t caught you staring at this point. Grace nudges you at one point in an effort to include you in the conversation she’s having with Sydney and Matt. You turn your focus to Sydney, and try to put Mat in the back of your mind.

Just as you’ve managed to fully relax and immerse yourself in the conversation, Tito and Mat come over and sit down next to you on the couch. Your whole body tenses, as you make eye contact with Mat for the first time of the night he smiles at you. Grace notices and comes in to save you, quickly dragging you up from your seat, pulling you away towards the kitchen just as Mat is about to say something to you. You think you see him frown, but you’re in the kitchen before you can even process his reaction.

“I think you need another drink” she says, already making you one. You take a big gulp of the drink, “I’m sorry for dragging you away, you just looked really uncomfortable” she ads. “Yeah, no. I’m just not ready to be rejected by him” you say. “Like I said before, I’m really not sure that he will. He’s been looking at you all night, you know” she notes. “Whenever you weren’t looking at him, that is” she teases. You try to hide your blush by taking a sip of your drink. “Him looking at me doesn’t mean he likes me” you mumble. You stand there for another moment before finally making your way back to the living room. You’re about to round the corner when you hear Mat and Tito, making you stop in your tracks. You hold out an arm and stop Grace as well. “I thought you said she liked me?” you hear Mat say, “she does!” Tito promises, “then why has she avoided all night?” Mat says. Grace gives you an I-told-you-so look, and you glare at her as she starts walking, dragging you with her yet again. And you know when you bump into Mat, that Grace meant for it to happen. You and Mat must look like two deers caught in headlights.

“I think you two need to talk,” Tito says as he joins Grace, the two of them leaving you alone. You’re stood there alone with Mat, it’s quiet for a moment before he speaks. “You don’t hate me do you?” he blurts, “why would I hate you?” you ask. “I mean, I talk a lot when I’m nervous and I couldn’t shut up for even a second to let you speak during our date” he replies. “If you’d let me talk I probably would have just embarrassed myself even more than I already did” you say, “sorry again, about the wine and the shirt situation, I mean” you continue, cringing at the thought. “That? Honestly, don’t worry about it” he says. “Wait, is that why you’ve been avoiding me? Because you were embarrassed?” he says, relief washing over his face. “Yeah, obviously. I was one-hundred-percent sure you were going to tell me we should just stay friends after all that, and I didn’t want to hear that, so I’ve tried my best to avoid it all night” you admit. “No, I’ve been thinking we need to try again, without the pressure, somewhere more casual than the place Tito picked” he says. “What did you have in mind?” you say shyly, feeling bad for ignoring him all night. “I don’t know, maybe I could cook for you or something” he says and you can’t help but laugh, “I mean, I’d love a home cooked meal, but I’ve heard rumours about your abilities in the kitchen, so maybe we could order takeout” you tease. “You’ll give me another chance then?” he says, “yes, but If anyone needs a second chance it’s me” you laugh.


	2. Second Chance pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Mat give it another shot, hoping that your second date is better than your first.

Even though you now knew that Mat liked you, you were still nervous for your second date. You’d both decided that you would come to his place, casual clothing, no pressure, and take out food. You’d never been to his apartment before so he promised to meet you outside his building when you arrived, so the moment your uber reaches its destination you text him. Not long after you can see him coming out of the elevator and running across the lobby to open the door for you. He’s dressed casual, as promised, but you’re pretty sure you’d find him attractive even if he was wearing a burlap sack.

He pulls you into a hug and guides you into the building. “You look nice” he says when you get into the elevator, you blush and mumble a thanks back to him, “so do you” you admit. “Not going to lie, I’m nervous this time around too” he says, you look up at him and let out a breath of relief “yeah, me too”. “I mean, I just want it to go well, don’t want to fuck it up” he continues. “I’d be impressed if it went worse than our first date, I think I’ll stay away from red wine tonight” you laugh. The doors on the elevator open, and Mat leads you out “Well, I did wear a black t-shirt tonight, so if you change your mind, I wouldn’t care if you spilled some on me” he teases.

When you enter his apartment, the first thing you do is take in the dimmed lights. The way he’s set the table looks as if you were back at the fancy restaurant from your first date, the pizza box on the table looks comically out of place. “I went ahead and ordered pizza for us, I asked Tito for your favorite, I hope that’s ok” he says. You smile at him “sounds perfect”.

“Wait here a second, close your eyes” he says, taking your hands up to cover your eyes. You laugh, considerably confused at his request. You hear him walk a few steps away from you, and it doesn’t take long before you hear him walk back again. “You can look now,” he says and you slowly take your hands away from your face. He’s stood in front of you with his hands behind his back with a shy smile on his face. You let out a confused laugh, about to ask him what he’s doing before he reveals a bouquet of flowers in his hands. There’s a slight blush on his face as he does so, but you bet it’s nothing compared to yours. “I just wanted to let you know before we officially start our second first date that I really like you. You could honestly spill a whole bottle of red wine on me and it wouldn’t change a thing because you’re adorable when you’re clumsy” he says before handing you the flowers. You’re at a loss for words, your whole body warm and fuzzy from his words. “I don’t know what to say Mat, I’m just-” you take a deep breath to calm yourself, “I really like you too” you finally admit.

The two of you finally sit down to eat, and it’s already so much different than your first date. You’re still a bit nervous, but he occasionally takes your hand in his on top of the table to reassure you that you’re not alone, he’s nervous too. “You know, I begged Tito to set up that first date,” he says out of the blue. You’ve just taken a bite of the pizza, and you hold your hand up so he’ll wait until you’ve finished chewing, doing so in a hurry. “You what?” you laugh after finally swallowing, “Yeah, I was too nervous to ask you myself, wasn’t sure you’d say yes” he blushes. “I think we’ve let our nerves ruin enough things at this point” you laugh. “Yeah, you’re probably right” he chuckles.

Neither of you want the date to end after dinner, so it doesn’t take much convincing for you to stay. Mat insists that you make yourself comfortable on the couch whilst he clears the table, leaving the remote for you so you can put something on. When he comes back he’s carrying two plates, “hope you have room for dessert” he smirks, “uuhh, always” you say, taking the plate with a brownie and some ice cream he’s handing you. He sits down next to you, legs criss crossed just like yours. “There’s no way you made this” you say after your first bite. He gives you a small playful shove “I’m not that hopeless” he says, to which you give him a knowing look. “Yeah, ok, Tito might have maybe helped me out a little” he says.

After you finish dessert he extends his legs out on the sectional and pulls you into him, and you quickly make yourself comfortable cuddled into his side. Neither of you have really paid attention to the movie you’d mindlessly put on. Both of you too caught up in conversation. Even now that you’re in a comfortable silence, you couldn’t care less about the TV. More focused on the feel of him. Your arm traveling across his stomach and settling at his waist. His warmth embracing you, his scent surrounding you, his slow breath calming you. Now, you’re not so sure what you were so nervous for on your first date, now you just feel like the two of you fit together so well. It’s felt so natural to be around him all night, and you’re so glad Grace pushed you into him at Tito’s party.

He lets out a sigh and you look up at him, humming to make him tell you what’s up. He looks down at you, “I’ve had a really good time tonight” he says, you hum again “I was just thinking the same thing” you say. “Didn’t even get wine spilled on me” he says, “oh, shut up” you laugh. He chuckles, his hand running up and down your side. In a burst of confidence you move to straddle him, he looks surprised at first, but his hands quickly find your waist. One hand moves up to your cheek as you lean your forehead against his. And he pulls you in for a kiss, your hand treading through his hair. You’re impossibly close to each other, melting together as you kiss for who knows how long.

Breaking away with a quiet happy laugh, catching your breaths, foreheads still pressed together, eyes still closed. “On our third date, we’ll go bowling or something” he murmurs, hand caressing your side. “Third date? Who said I’ll go on another date with you” you tease. He kisses you again, “I have a feeling you wouldn’t mind going on another date with me” he says before kissing you yet again “and then a fourth” another kiss, “fifth” kiss, “sixth” kiss, “seventh” he mumbles. “Yeah, yeah, I get it” you giggle before kissing him again.


End file.
